A new public health alert has been released by The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in which 130,860 pounds of frozen fully cooked, diced chicken products packed on Jan-25-21, Jan-26-21, March-23-21 and March-24-21 can be infected with Listeria monocytogenes. The great concern is that those products were distributed in local food banks in Florida through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program in individual food boxes.
The products were distributed between Feb. 24, 2021 through March 1, 2021, and March 29, 2021 through April 8, 2021, at temporary locations.
The problem was discovered during routine FSIS inspection activities when inspection personnel observed products requiring recooking due to possible Lm contamination had been repackaged without being recooked. A subsequent FSIS investigation determined other affected product had been further distributed in commerce. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to the consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.
The consumption of any product contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis. This disease has the predisposition to affect older adults (> 65 years), people with a weakened immune system, pregnant and newborns. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established: “an estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die”.
The symptoms of listeriosis are:
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Fever
Muscle aches
Headache
Stiff neck
Confusion
Loss of balance
Convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms
An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract
What are the symptoms in pregnant women?
Listeriosis can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
What happens to older people?
Serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who
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